About

Welcome to HIDDENWORLDS, a showcase of work by the 2023 cohort for MA Independent Games & Playable Experience Design at Goldsmiths, University of London.

HIDDENWORLDS From the darkest corners to the safe realm of the streetlight, there are Hidden Worlds that await for travelers that seek adventure and mysteries.

The showcase will feature a large array of experimental game design and interactive playable experiences. Under the theme of Hidden Worlds, we will explore the infinite possibilities available in the medium of games. Absorb the creativity on display, play games and experience hidden worlds.

From physical installations, 3D, 2D Games and Mixed Reality, the showcase is a must for anyone interested in experimental games and playable experience design.

Event
Venue and Timings
8-10 September 2023
Fri 18:00 - 21:30 (opening)
Sat 14:00 - 19:00
Sun 14:00 - 18:00

St. James Hatcham Church
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross, London SE14 6AD
Games & Playful Experiences
"Magical STEM" by Suyash Joshi

Magical STEM is a showcase of variety of digital and physical educational STEM (Science, Techonology, Engineering, Mathematics) games, toys and playful experiences inspired by the art of magic. They include a hand crafted Flip Book Automata, Persistence of Vision Arduino Wand, Installation Game using Computer Vision. These games not only educational and entertaining but also inspire creative thinking and problem solving using body and mind.


During the project showcase, audience also get to experience Science and Technology Magic tricks live!

"The Resurrection of George Dunbar" by Noah J Dunbar

George Dunbar is mirror self for Noah, an embodiment of all they see as vile in the world previously used in satirical performance pieces. Noah was interested in the narrative exercise of treating this character seriously and writing them as a whole person and constructing how one would reach such a vileness. The narrative took the form of imagining what that would look like across the oncoming century and tying these decisions to the real traumatic childhood Noah and George share. It was also the chance to write the death of this character as an exorcism of neurosis of becoming like those who abused you.


The game works as a non linear post mortem narrative puzzle game. You will traverse a maze for keys, listen to the audio triggered, then discern which key is for which themed lock out of Despair, Ambition, Invention and Delicate Memories. You only have 4 chances to get this wrong so listen to the audio carefully. Warning the game contains reference to sexual assault, panic attacks and child abuse.

"To Rebecca" by Zihao Liu

This is a physical puzzle game, a gift, for the person who matters most to me. The game consists of four minigames with different mechanics, where the player is brought into Rebecca's point of view to play. Keep finding out the answers and unlocking access to new game worlds and discover the final secret!

"The Hole" by Josh Patterson

A narrative exploration game with strong horror and uncanny elements. You play as Mary, a woman who lives on an isolated farmstead along with her husband, Jim. One day while out tending the farm, you notice an odd sinkhole has appeared in the earth.


Subsequently, strange occurrences begin to crop up around the farm, such as the disappearance of animals, and the increasingly anxious behaviour of your husband. You must now investigate the secrets of the hole and where it has come from, or risk your life as you know it sinking down into its dark depths.

"Peacock" by Yifang Yuan

Peacock is the embodiment of beauty, a symbol of comparison psychology, so this game wants to explore ""what is beauty"". Attractive beauty is certainly more than just external appearance but is also about the heart, thought, soul, and so on. However, we often stare at our flaws, ignoring our precious features and qualities, getting caught in anxiety and inferiority through comparison with others.


Especially after entering the Internet era, the comparison between people has intensified online. Regardless, can you now cast aside the judgments of others and wholeheartedly pursue becoming the person you want to be?

"Social system analysis for QQspeedm" by Li Yuelin

The project shows the dismantling and optimization plan of QQspeedm's social system, and the dismantling and upgrading plan of the heart Tour gameplay.


Through the in-depth experience of QQspeedm, taking social as the starting point, I have thought about the game experience brought by the social system and the mechanism and design of the specific implementation, as well as how the social system and other systems can form the overall communication of the core gameplay and game experience of the game, and at the same time, I have horizontally compared the design ideas of competing products or head products, and finally formed this demonstration project.

"Soulbound" by Duraton Insyirah Zakaria & Kshitij Srivastava

Face your past in a VR horror game woven with South East Asian folklore. Confront a spectral sacrifice ritual, journeying back in time to rewrite history and break its grip.

"Social system analysis for QQspeedm" by Li Yuelin

The project shows the dismantling and optimization plan of QQspeedm's social system, and the dismantling and upgrading plan of the heart Tour gameplay.


Through the in-depth experience of QQspeedm, taking social as the starting point, I have thought about the game experience brought by the social system and the mechanism and design of the specific implementation, as well as how the social system and other systems can form the overall communication of the core gameplay and game experience of the game, and at the same time, I have horizontally compared the design ideas of competing products or head products, and finally formed this demonstration project.

"Balour" by WeiDong Zheng & LinJing Huang

The game is about the Fool and the Devil exploring together for their own purposes and defeating their enemies through tarot cards and tarot spreads. Also, it represents the cycle of transformation of the Fool into the World.


It is a tarot card wargame with occult elements. The word "Balaur" symbolises any monster, and as in the game, each character has a malevolent side.

"Moments" by Shuyu Lin (Sylvie)

it's a game about experiencing oneself in numerous moments and becoming oneself from those very moments.

"Dive into the Otherside" by WatcherNinth

Dive into the Otherside is a 90s internet weirdcore game set in the early days of the graphical internet. One day in the 1990s, the otherwise safe Internet suddenly turned into a hellish place littered with horrific phenomena. These horrific phenomena, known as anomalies, use information as a medium, and the sanity of any human who observes them is severely damaged until it descends into complete madness.


In some extreme examples, incomprehensible supernatural phenomena have also occurred in their presence. Players, as the registered investigator of organisation called “WatchTower”, will investigate these anomalies and their behaviour patterns, collect valuable information and discover the solution towards them in the end.


Your objective is to explore your assigned case, find out what happened to the missing investigators, and record details of the anomalies you encountered. The game features natural language interaction powered by the application of AI models. It used the GPT series models to understand natural language input and generate response to help your investigation in various ways.

"Corporate Zombies" by Julia Mascetti

You're an administrative assistant who has been placed on probation for reasons that are probably not your fault.


To survive your shift and keep your job, you need to find all of your managers and shoot them with emails until they admit defeat. Once they're gone, you win. Your prize is to keep the job you hate. Run out of battery, whether your laptop battery or emotional one, and you'll be hit with a P45. Give 'em corporate hell, kid.

"Vignette" by Matt Jones

A game that explores the relationship between machine learning and human creativity, and how the rise of AI can blur the line between creator and creation.


Through a series of interconnected stories, "Vignette" presents the algorithmic death of the author.

"Breaking Barriers" by Kanam Lathia

Embark on an adventure through social interactions in 'Breaking Barriers.' This unique game blends various mini-games to create an immersive experience that caters to those navigating the challenges of social anxiety. As you delve into the game, you'll find a collection of activities designed to inspire self-discovery, personal growth, and the forging of genuine connections. This includes:


A Heartfelt Narrative Date: Experience the nervous excitement and authentic emotions of a first date as you guide characters through meaningful conversations.


Labyrinth of Collaboration: Engage in a physical maze-solving challenge that mirrors the collaborative effort often required in real-life social situations. Team up with strangers, discovering the power of seeking help.


Break the Ice : Warm up the atmosphere with a series of ice breaker questions, to encourage open dialogue. Uncover shared interests, hilarious stories, and intriguing facts, creating an environment of trust and understanding.


Dance Therapy: Utilise an innovative dance therapy, designed for individuals managing performance anxiety. With immersive environments and carefully guided movements, this mini-game helps you develop a sense of comfort and confidence in social scenarios.

"The Adventure of Gustav the Cat" by Qirong Yin (Archy) & Yanfang Xu (sherry)

Set in the most classic 2D platfrom jumping game, with hand-drawn characters and scenes - A journey of one man's self-analysis. Go deep into the character's head and experience the major anchor events in life.


Feel what the he feels and experience those emotions. Follow his story as it reaches its destination.

"NONSENSE" by Zitong Zhao

Enter the darkness, where reality and nonsense are braided into a terrifying "NONSENSE." Enjoy this digital journey exploring the hidden meanings and miracles in everyday life. Explore a world of sad beauty where film photography meets an unnerving hand-drawn aesthetic to create an atmosphere you'll remember. The weird feeling isn't a figment of the imagination. A symphony of field recordings will echo in your thoughts as you try to make sense of this terrible reality. 😦 I pray that everything makes sense, and I pray that nothing does ):

"A Story Of Ideas" by Brandon Davies

A game about games, A Story of Ideas will explore identity in games through sketches and various ideas, sewing them together to provide a critical reflection of development and developers. feels and experience those emotions. Follow his story as it reaches its destination.

Students
Suyash Joshi
Suyash Joshi is a creative technologist and designer based out of London. In the past he worked as a senior software engineer for several years in San Francisco before coming to Goldsmiths pursue degree in game design at Goldsmiths, University of London educational, interactive games and inexperiences. He is also a magician and often combines his passion for magic, science and technology in innovative ways to educate and inspire others.
Noah J Dunbar
Noah J Dunbar (They/Them) is a writer and designer working across mediums. But video games are their essential love. They're interested in horror and comedy and the intersection therein. Majority of work has a consistent vein of social satire. They believe a better world is coming.
Zihao Liu
There are three hobbies in my life:Indie games,beatbox,Gunpla. Find me on wechat "zemamax" and on steam "94862345".
Josh Patterson
Hailing from Belfast, Josh Patterson is a game designer with a specific interest in narrative and writing. His previous credits include the First-Person Shooter Terminator: Resistance and several other upcoming titles within the Terminator universe. In his work, he seeks to explore how stories can be told through an interactive medium, and how the player can be made an active participant in the creation of the narrative. His games often feature dark, subliminal spaces, uncanny themes and characters, and explorations of mental health.
Yifang Yuan
I love indie games! I led the design and development of various projects during university. Making games is full of fun and challenges for me! I enjoy deep thinking and exchanging ideas with others. All of these experiences make me want to become a game producer!
Li Yuelin
A designer who loves games and wants to realize his ideal world through the industrialization of games.
Duraton Insyirah Zakaria
Originated from Malaysia, Dura is a coding newcomer who possesses a flair for writing and a deep affinity for all things horror. Transitioning from her writing roots, she dives in head first into the game industry and is driven to craft games that blend fear and excitement, while interweaving her own history and cultural influences.
WeiDong Zheng
WeiDong Zheng(He/Him) is a game designer, programmer and passionate about computer graphics. Also, as a player and developer, he is interested in trying to define basic elements to achieve endless results. He hopes to develop a game that will surprise the developers with what the players bring to the game.
LinJing Huang
LinJing Huang (She/Her) is a game designer and illustrator. She tends to explore a variety of interesting themes in life, such as the occult, fairy tales and fashion. She has a keen interest in art, experimenting with various art styles and incorporating them to create different styles of games and a playable experience for the player.
Shuyu Lin (Sylvie)
A game maker, a fish, a very infj type fish
WatcherNinth
Hello, this is WatcherNinth(Yilun Cai), an indie developer and game designer who crashed every studio and project he worked for. I am focus on game rules and systematic design, especially in the area of detective narrative, non-linear narrative and programming games. Contemporarly, I am interested in the adaption of NLP models into narrative games and applying for a doctorate related to it.
Julia Mascetti
Julia Mascetti (she/her) writes music, words, and now, games. She wants to explore the worlds hidden in what society deems mundane, low-value and obscene. She plays the harp and has worked in journalism and PR.
Matt Jones
Matt (He/Him) is a narrative game designer and creative coder with an interest in exploring the the relationship between creator and the creation, artist and art, and how this relationship may change in the future.
Kshitij Srivastava
Kanam Lathia
Kanam (she/her) is a game and level designer who focuses on creating games and playful experiences for the players. She is interested in experimenting with games that help understand human journey and social issues for awareness. She enjoys creating 3D environments to give them an immersive experience.
Qirong Yin (Archy)
Qirong (She/Her) is focused on game narratives and the impact of game environments on player emotions. Skilled in graphic design, environment design, and also writes the occasional short story (not professionally!). She is interested in making experimental as well as educational games, with a passion for using games to recognise and assist in the treatment of mental illness.
Yanfang Xu (sherry)
I specialize in the impact of game level design on players' emotions and game experience. She specializes in program and level building design. I am interested in making experimental and platform adventure games, and am passionate about using games to recognize and express self-emotions.
Brandon Davies
Brandon (He/Him) is focused on creating playable experiences that highlight narratives surrounding topics ranging from City Design, Life Choices and Memories. A game audio graduate and a learning technologist, he is also intent on combining these skills to create educational and experimental audio components for his games.
Zitong Zhao (ZZT)
ZZT (she/her) is a multidisciplinary explorer of the world. She previously spent five years in higher education focusing on the researches of media and culture, but the more she knew, the more she felt she was still lacking. Her goal was to create a lovely piece that would allow her to express herself through a variety of media. She hopes that her creativity will serve as a shield to keep her safe. Have a good day with her!
Program Leader
Fede Fasce
Fede leads the Independent Games and Playable Experience Design MA and teaches several modules about game design and quick prototyping. He has been working in the games industry and other related fields for more than 20 years. When designing games, he likes to focus on emotions and on how game mechanics can be used in order to facilitate a given feeling or deliver a certain message. He is currently self-producing small games that explore relationships and love.